The Lightning’s top-20-under-25 countdown has turned to a forward who looks built for the grind, not the highlight reel, and Lucas Mercuri is suddenly in the mix for an NHL look this season.
Tampa Bay acquired Mercuri in March of 2025, sending a 2025 sixth-round pick to Carolina for his rights. The Lightning signed him quickly, and the former UMass forward got his first taste of the organization later that season with six games for Syracuse. Last year, he carved out a bigger role with the Crunch, moving up into the middle six and onto the power play.
The results followed. Mercuri finished with 14 goals and 12 assists in 67 games, and he piled up 132 penalty minutes along the way.
That total led Syracuse, and by a comfortable margin, though in the rough-and-tumble AHL it was still topped by 11 other players. Coachella Valley’s Ian McKinnon paced the league with 245 PIMs.
His season was good enough to earn Syracuse’s Ephesus “Brightest Prospect” / Rookie of the Year award, and it also put him on the radar for more in 2026-27. JustinG. slotted him 18th in the rankings, while the final placement landed at 15th.
Mercuri’s game is built on usefulness. He doesn’t flash, but he does a lot of things right.
His wrist shot is quick and accurate enough to beat goalies from the circles, and it’s worth noting that he scored more goals in the AHL than he ever did in college, where his best season at UMass produced 10. He also sees the ice well, can move the puck through the neutral zone to help with entries, and he’s more than willing to lean into the forecheck.
At 6-foot-3 and 223 pounds, he has the kind of frame NHL teams like, and he doesn’t shy away from using it.
The biggest hurdle is skating. He has enough speed to get by in the AHL, but at the NHL level he could find himself a step or two behind, and that would blunt some of what makes him effective on the forecheck and in his own end.
Defensively, though, he fits the Lightning mold. Mercuri tends to be in the right spots, uses his reach to break up passes, and is comfortable working along the boards. If there’s a battle to be won, he has a decent chance to win it or at least make life unpleasant for the other guy.
That’s why he should get a serious look in training camp for a fourth-line job. There may be too many players ahead of him right now, but his style is the kind Tampa Bay likes when it starts making call-ups.
If he doesn’t break camp with the big club, he should stay in the Crunch’s middle six and likely bounce between center and wing. Winning face-offs would only strengthen his case.
The feedback from the ranking voters reflected that same appeal. One vote said, “Mercuri, I think would make a great 4th line center.”
Another put it even more directly: “Mercuri is a big boy who can produce at 4th line NHL level IMO, and needs to be on the 4th line start of this season.”
His highest placement came in at sixth, with multiple votes, and most of his support landed in the 12th through 20th range.
The video clips back up the profile. Mercuri has shown a knack for getting to the front of the net, screening goalies, and turning chaos into goals. He also has enough touch to make a back pass under pressure, and while he’s not going to be confused with a pure playmaker, he can move the puck well for a forward whose game is more about physicality and net-front work.
And when opportunities come his way, he’s shown he can cash them in. One clip even came with the reminder that a turnover is one thing, but finishing it is another, and Mercuri handled that chance cleanly with a bit of stickhandling and a long reach before tucking it home.
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